Who's it all about?

I taught a Sunday school class today on 2 Samuel 7-8. This is the passage where David desires to build the Lord a house, but God tells Him no. Instead, God tells David He will build him a house instead, and that it will be his son who builds God's house. In essence, the Lord tells David, "Nice plans, but not Mine."

What is David;s reaction? There are few passages in the Bible that express more awe of God and His work in a life than 2 Samuel 7:18-29. David expresses his awe and gratitude at God for even considering him to be the king of Israel, and for promising a future dynasty for his line. He constantly uses the name "Lord GOD," or as the NIV translates it, "Sovereign LORD." The idea is that while David is a king, he recognizes who the real King is.

Perhaps more astounding to many modern readers i David;s attitude toward God's denial of his desire. Many Christians are discouraged or sulky when they want something and God clearly closes the door on them. (I'll admit it's happened to me a few times.) They aren't ready to praise the Lord or acknowledge His sovereignty. Instead, they pester the Lord with whines and complaints, and sometimes even move forward without Him. Then they are surprised when the Lord doesn't bless the works of their hands.

David fully expected the Lord to bless what he and his descendants would do, but it was not because he had made plans and expected God to honor them. It was because he knew that when the Lord made a promise, and when His people faithfully followed His will, that the blessing would follow. David continually expresses his understanding of who God is, and who he is in relation to God. He understands that in the end, it's all about God.

In our lives, and even in our churches, we sometimes get so concerned with building our reputations that we forget that our goal is to point to God's reputation instead. If we successfully get the credit for everything we do, we can fail the Lord if we don't acknowledge that all of our success is rooted in Him. That doesn't mean we don't do anything, or should never be thanked or even honored for what we do. (After all, we see David being honored in other passages!) But we do need to point people to our mighty God, who makes it all possible.